On the Zhuji High School bench, Zhang Tian'ai patted her chest with starry eyes, secretly feeling relieved, "Thankfully, it wasn't a one-handed dunk, otherwise... wouldn't I have looked incredibly cool..."
Nanmo High School was once again hit with a fast break by Zhuji High School. If the previous defensive counterattack was understandable, this quick counterattack after a score was less excusable for Nanmo High School.
"Get back! Get back! Our transition defense speed needs to pick up!" Liu Wei, the captain of Nanmo High School, shouted urgently at his teammates.
He was mainly yelling at Yao Ming and Cai Liang, because it was these two who hadn't retreated on the last play, leaving Nanmo High School's interior defense extremely vulnerable.
But could Yao Ming and Cai Liang be blamed?
Zhuji High School's counterattack speed was too fast! If they continued at this pace, Yao Ming would be exhausted before halftime... Liu Wei hadn't realized the core problem yet, and was merely encouraging Yao Ming to speed up his defense...
He Ximeng was naturally pleased to see this.
On Nanmo High School's next offensive possession, Liu Wei simply called for Yao Ming to set a high pick-and-roll. After the screen, Liu Wei intended to drive past Yan Hui, drawing him away, and then create a mismatch for Big Yao to overpower He Ximeng.
However, He Ximeng had already rotated behind, dodged Yao Ming's screen, and loudly reminded Yan Hui, "No switch!"
Yan Hui continued to guard Yao Ming's position, preventing him from rolling to the basket, while He Ximeng circled around from behind Yan Hui to chase down the driving Liu Wei.
Seeing that passing back to Yao Ming for a roll was hopeless, Liu Wei could only attempt a pull-up jumper, trying to find his rhythm. But He Ximeng's defense was aggressive, disrupting Liu Wei's shot, causing it to bounce off the rim again.
On Zhuji High School's side, Yan Hui and Feng Chen immediately screened Big Yao, while Zhang Zhenpeng and He Ximeng dropped back to the paint to secure the rebound!
He Ximeng grabbed the first loose ball, secured the rebound, and dribbled up the court himself!
Liu Wei tried to slow down He Ximeng's advance, giving his teammates time to get back on defense. If possible, Liu Wei also wanted to steal the ball from He Ximeng... After all, Liu Wei's stealing ability was considered top-tier in the high school basketball scene...
But Liu Wei had clearly underestimated He Ximeng's ball-handling skills.
First, He Ximeng's fundamental ball-handling was very solid. In fact, He Ximeng had anticipated Liu Wei's intention from the start.
Yes, He Ximeng's most terrifying aspect now was that his opponents' intentions couldn't escape his eyes.
Once he discerned the opponent's intentions, he could take preemptive measures, giving him an advantage in both offense and defense!
On this play, Liu Wei's intention was foreseen by He Ximeng. The moment Liu Wei closed in, He Ximeng played along, feinting, luring Liu Wei into making a move, then opportunistically changed direction, and drove past Liu Wei in one step... After getting past Liu Wei, He Ximeng sped up again.
Liu Wei shouted from behind He Ximeng, reminding his teammates to turn and slow him down.
He Ximeng finally experienced the exhilaration that Derrick Rose felt with his obsession for rapid changes of direction during drives. Because this feeling of lightning-fast speed, driving past opponents all the way, was truly exhilarating...
How exhilarating? It was probably comparable to those second-generation rich kids in their Ferraris, weaving through traffic on the highway, overtaking Santanas, Polos, and Aegeas...
After grabbing the rebound from his own backcourt, he blazed past all five of the Huamo High School defenders, then soared high into the air... with a seemingly effortless layup for two points...
"Meow! Is this the guard you guys said couldn't score?"
"Uh... maybe his shooting is bad... Anyone can do a layup..."
"But not everyone can do that kind of driving speed and layup technique, can they?"
"...Yes, I admit, his driving speed might be a little fast, his crossover might be a little sharp, and his layup might be a little stylish... But that doesn't change the fact that he can't shoot! Anyway, I haven't seen him shoot many times in the previous games..."
"Hmm... I think you're going to be proven wrong... very wrong..."
"I still stand by my opinion, I believe the stats don't lie..."
He Ximeng scored twice in a row, helping Zhuji High School take a 6-2 lead over their opponent, finally enraging Big Yao!
On this possession, Yao Ming didn't hesitate to use a quick spin to create space against Yan Hui near the paint, then pulled and dragged his way free from Yan Hui's grips... Yes, one side was determined to block, and the other was determined to get in... The battle for position at the edge of the paint wasn't about subtle skills; it was raw, brutal beauty.
On this play, Yao Ming exerted considerable effort, finally shaking off Yan Hui and driving into the paint!
Liu Wei naturally wouldn't waste this excellent opportunity, delivering a high lob pass precisely over the basket. Yao Ming caught the ball and dunked, releasing the frustration from being blocked by Yan Hui in the previous few possessions!
The Zhuji High School players on the bench, seeing Yao Ming complete a two-handed dunk with a simple jump, finally understood why He Ximeng had told Yan Hui and Feng Chen to block Yao Ming's post position at all costs... because once Yao Ming got to that position, scoring was simply too easy. And stopping him from scoring was incredibly difficult...
Yao Ming had intended to use his powerful dunk to boost Nanmo High School's morale, but instead, it only solidified Zhuji High School's determination to shut down Big Yao.
In the subsequent play, Yan Hui and Feng Chen, disregarding rebounds and scoring, dedicated all their energy to defense, solely to limit Yao Ming's offense.
In the previous games, Yan Hui had been an important contributor to Zhuji High School, especially in scoring. For Zhuji High School to defeat their opponents, the firepower lost from Yan Hui's absence had to be compensated.
He Ximeng could no longer rely on his organizing and play-calling to secure victories as he had in previous games.
In this game, He Ximeng unleashed his full potential in driving to the basket, scoring repeatedly.
The aggressive He Ximeng forced Nanmo High School to tighten their defense, attempting to use double-teams to curb He Ximeng's drives to the rim.
He Ximeng didn't intend to carry the entire load himself; instead, he trusted his teammates, choosing to drive and dish, constantly assisting the perimeter shooters Wang Xian, Zhang Zhenpeng, and Tang Chenfeng! This allowed his teammates to increase their shooting attempts from outside.
Zhang Zhenpeng was particularly effective in this game. When He Ximeng was trapped by the opponent's heavy double-teams, Zhang Zhenpeng stepped up from beyond the three-point line, hitting three out of five shots, successfully dismantling Nanmo High School's strategy of collapsing defense and helping Zhuji High School maintain their lead in the score...